


Mutual Acquaintance

by midnightofthesoul



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blind Date, F/M, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 23:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4368824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightofthesoul/pseuds/midnightofthesoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Oliver is in Chicago on business, his two best friends try to set him up with a woman who lives there. Too bad they keep missing each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mutual Acquaintance

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: blind date.  
> This was supposed to be a flash fic, however it spiraled out of control when I got into my groove and whoops 2.5 hours later. So, it's not a flash fic. It's a groove fic.

Oliver is on a business trip in Chicago, meeting with various investors over a new line of anti-cyber terror software his company has developed. His CTO, Jeff Tucker, sits beside him as they wait patiently for their next meeting, thumbing through reddit on his iphone and chortling quietly.

Oliver receives a text from Tommy, saying that since he's going to be in Chicago the whole week, he should meet up with a girl Tommy knew back in college.

_How well did you know her, exactly?_

Tommy replies a moment later. _First off, she was only a friend. Second, I am not introducing you two so you can hook up with her. She's way out of your league._

Oliver's eyebrow quirks as the thought. _Out of my league? Is that even possible?_

_Trust me, man. Once you meet her, you'll know what I mean. I'll give her a call later and see if she's up for it, then pass on her contact info._

Not particularly committed to this plan, Oliver replies just as they are shown into an office suite for their meeting. Taking a quick breath, Oliver glances at Jeff and gives him a smile of commiseration. _Showtime._

It's late in the day when they finish and Oliver decides that he'd rather take the El to a stop somewhat near their hotel than catch a cab with Jeff who talks constantly. They agree to meet up in a couple hours for dinner, giving Oliver enough time to go for a long jog beforehand.

Crammed tightly into the train car, Oliver immediately regrets his decision for economical travel as he stares out the window, feeling like he's in a fish tank. At the next stop only a couple people get out, but several more pile on, making it even tighter. Somehow, he edges toward the door, giving him the chance to catch a bit of fresh air in the stifling car.

Just before the doors close a flash of yellow with the scent of light citrusy warm comfort hops on, nearly plowing into his chest. Instinctively Oliver reaches out to hold the person in place, his breath catching when she straightens quickly, putting herself to rights.

"I'm so sorry! Didn't mean to run you ov-" her apology falls from her lips when she glances up at him, goldfishing for a moment. "Oh God. Very, very sorry. Wow. I'm just going to," she motions towards the door, "face... away from all of that," she makes a motion indicating his well-defined upper physique, causing him to crack an amused smile. With a small squeak at his reaction, she about faces and places her hand on the railing, her electric pink nails popping vibrantly. Oliver debates in his head for approximately 30 seconds whether he should ask her name, when she whips out her phone, responding to a chime from her pocket.

Letting out what appears to be a disgruntled huff, she practically slam texts a response, letting out an adorable growl in the process. Oliver catches his reflection in the window, surprised to find that he is grinning from ear to ear at her actions. The grin is short lived as they roll into the next station and without even a look back, she hops out of the car and crosses to the other side, hopping into the car going the opposite direction.

Well, that sucks. He glances at the name of the stop and his watch, thinking that maybe he can catch her around the same time tomorrow.

_.::..::..::._

Beyond tired, Felicity walks up the steps to the El for the second time, hating her supervisor just a little bit more. Even though she's a department head, the fact that Felicity wears heels and lipstick and is the best thing that ever happened to that department is something of a problem for her supervisor. He calls her back to work all the time, requesting she do things far above her pay grade while he dips out to golf with one his buddies in finance.

"Chauvinist, dim-witted bottom-dweller," she mutters as she steps onto the car, much emptier and much less attractive than when she climbed on earlier. Just thinking about that greek god wearing a well tailored charcoal gray suit makes her heart break into a funny rhythm. Which... doesn't seem normal. Perhaps she should get that checked out.

Schlumping in a seat, she forgoes her usual music and book routine in exchange for staring out the window. Which proves to be the _BEST IDEA EVER_ when she catches sight of the greek god running down the sidewalk in a sweat-soaked shirt and shorts, cutting up the street towards a hotel.

Visiting. Of course he is. _Because  I'd totally get the opportunity to meet someone like that again in the near future. And of course he would reciprocate that desire. Because look at me, I'm a tech geek wrapped in the body of a bumbling short person with glasses and frizzy hair. Ugh._

Forcing him out of her mind, she gives the greek god little thought for the rest of the evening until she receives a text from an old friend from Boston, Sara Lance.

_Yo, be free on Friday. I'll be in town. We need to do all the things in one night. I'll let you know when I arrive._

_Hi to you too, and yes, I'm doing fine, and no I don't have any plans Friday._

_Good. What about Thursday? A guy from back home is in your neck of the woods, I thinkhe's there all week. You should meet up. Show him around or do whatever._

_How about no?_

_I promise he's good people. I'll touch base with him in the morning and shoot you his info later. Give it a shot. It's not like you have to marry him, just meet up for dinner or show him miracle mile. IDK._

_Fine, fine. You're buying first round._

_Deal ;) But only if you wear your hooker heels._

The following morning, she receives a call from Tommy Merlyn, asking if she's free that night.

"Why? Are you in town! You own me dinner, you know. Among other things."

"I'm not in town," Tommy sighs, "but I have a friend who is. Would you meet him for dinner tonight? The guy he's in town with is not exactly good company."

Felicity pauses. Strange. Two in one week? Huh. Whatever. Maybe one of them will be cute enough to distract away from her sheer awkwardness. " How do you know I _don't_ have a date tonight?"

"You typically go on dates Thursday and Saturday nights. It's Wednesday. That and... well do you?"

Damn. He knows her so well. " Fine fine. Send him my info. If he wants to meet up later, cool."

"Perfect! I owe you two dinners. I'll be in town next month."

"And a pint of ice cream! You owe me that too. Bye!"

_.::._

It's  lunchtime and Oliver stares at his phone for a moment, debating if he wants to push ahead with meeting this girl. Glancing over at Jeff, picking his teeth with his knife blade, Oliver decides that it can't be any worse than his present company.

_Felicity? Hi, this is Oliver. Tommy's friend._

She doesn't respond for over ten minutes, giving him doubts.

_Hi! Sorry. Was in a meeting. The infamous Oliver Queen. I've heard much about you._

_Should I be worried?_

_That's up for debate. I like to make my own first impression. What are you up for tonight? Drinks? Dinner? Movie?_

Having been familiar with the dating thing for some time, he decides on the least painful option. _Drinks will work. Time?_

_Assuming my brilliant supervisor doesn't call me back to work, let's go for 7? Send me your hotel info so I can figure out a good place near you to go. Also - can I call you Oliver? Ollie sounds like the name of a four-year-old speeding down the street on a tricycle._

Oliver grins at the last part. He sends her his info and sets his mind on meeting her for a libation or two.  Later, he calls Tommy for more info on this girl since she already seems to know of him.

"She's great, buddy. Talks super fast, actually, her mouth gets her in trouble a lot. She makes a lot of unintentional sexual innuendos. It gets worse when she's nervous. Which she will be. So just go with it. Also, wicked smart. She's does computer stuff, so you could probably talk to her about what you're in town for."

"Great. So she's a talkative geek? Since when has that ever been my type?"

"Ollie - Seriously?  Again, I'm not setting you up so you can bang her. She's my friend and she could easily be your friend. She's literally a ball of sunshine. I just figured she'd make the trip more memorable."

"Fine, you're right. I take that back."

They end the call shortly thereafter, giving Oliver a chance to finish an email he's composing to Walter Steele. Just after, he receives a message from Felicity.

_Looks like the evil supervisor strikes again. We'vegot a huge presentation coming up tomorrow and one of the servers crashed so it's all hands on deck right now. Not sure when I'll be done. Terribly sorry :(_

Oliver frowns, strangely let down by this. Maybe it’s because Tommy spoke so highly of her. He’s not sure. Either way, he makes a vague reply and asks where he should go for dinner.

_If you like burgers, we’ve got this local place that makes the best burgers ever. I’ll attach the address. Ask for John and tell him I sent you._

_Best burgers, eh? High praise._

_You won’t regret it. Trust me ;)_

She’s right. He doesn’t regret it one bit. John turns out to be the owner and part time chef, as well as possessor of the biggest biceps Oliver’s ever seen in person. He sets up Oliver with a great meal and and even better beer list.

“So how do you know Felicity? You must be pretty special if she sent you here, this is saved for only her nearest and dearest.”

Oliver’s eyebrows dart upward in surprise. “Actually, she’s a mutual acquaintance. We were supposed to meet up earlier, but she got kept in at work.”

John makes a face of displeasure. “That idiot supervisor of hers kept her back again? She’s the youngest department head in that company, practically does her boss’s job, and she still isn’t even in the area she wants to work. I will never understand why she puts up with that place.”

“I heard she’s into tech stuff?”

“Yeah, something like that. Once she gets talking about it, it’s hard to understand because she loses herself in it.”

Oliver runs his nail in a groove along the bar, frowning. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way… about anything. Makes me feel like I’m missing something.”

John rinses out some glasses, measuring Oliver with a look as he does so. “Who knows, maybe you just haven’t found it yet.”

All in all, Oliver has a great evening chatting with John, receiving recommendations as to what he should do with his afternoon off tomorrow. He’s only in town a couple more days, might as well make the best of it.

_.::._

Felicity gets home at nine that evening, tugging off all her clothes and leaving them where they fall. She takes a quick shower because she spent three hours sitting next to Tim, who smells like unwashed boy and garlic, with greasy skin and even greasier hair. Her entire everything is exhausted. She dresses in her softest pjs, forgoes dinner all together, and collapses in her bed. Checking her phone, she receives a text from Oliver:

_Thanks for the dinner recommendation. I agree, that place had amazing burgers. We might have a place that could compete with it though. Just sayin'._

Felicity’s jaw drops. _Heresy! Besides, what burger places come equipped with someone as awesome as John? I bet he told you where to go tomorrow, didn’t he?”_

_Sure did. Maybe if your presentation ends early, you could play hooky and we could do something fun?_

Felicity bites her lip for a moment, debating if this is a bad idea. Then she glances at her clothes strewn about, remembering greasy Tim, and replies. _I could be persuaded :) I’ll touch base with you tomorrow. Sleep well!_

.::..::..::.

Oliver and Jeff are standing in yet another business building, chatting with several execs about various features of their software, when he spots her:  The blonde from the El. Her long blonde hair is down today, and her deep plum dress is very well fitted to her toned body. She’s carrying a tablet and a large brief case, red pen clasped between her teeth as she gives the man beside her what Oliver feels is a withering look. There are several others congregating behind them, all preparing to enter the large glass walled boardroom. 

She glances his way then blinks hard, giving him a wave with two of her fingers that aren't clutching her tablet. He turns and looks behind him, not sure she she's actually looking at him, then turns to see that she’s already entered the boardroom. She proceeds to the head the table where she pulls out a stack of folders, handing them off as she uses her tablet to pull up a screen on the overhead and a presentation appears. 

Without even paying attention, he wanders closer to the entrance of the boardroom, catching hints of her familiar scent as the executives he was just speaking with filter into the room to take their seats. All but Jeff and a couple others remain outside. Oliver finds it hard to break his gaze away from the blonde who is chatting with the CIO, a look of surprise on her face as the man asks her a question to which she nods in reply. The CIO walks around the table back to Oliver and Jeff who’s now standing beside him.

“Hey, we’re about to have a presentation about our next gen firewall and new encryption software. If you want to stick around, it shouldn’t be a problem. If anything, maybe you’ll find something you’re interested in as well.”

Oh, Oliver is interested alright. Very interested. He quickly wonders if he can text Felicity and tell her that something's come up, because he most certainly isn’t letting this golden opportunity (pun intended) pass him by for the second time. Before he can pull out his cellphone, the door shuts and the walls become opaque, providing privacy in the boardroom. 

“Alright everyone, let’s begin,” the blonde states smoothly. “Just as a reminder, I’ve declassified most of this presentation, however I’ve still disabled all your cell phones and any other technology devices you may have. If there's an emergency, I will certainly enable service.”

_Oh well. I’ll text her later._

“For situational awareness, I’ll introduce our guests in the back,” says the CIO next to the blonde, “We have Mr. Jeff Tucker, Chief Technology Officer and Mr. Oliver Queen, Vice President of Research and Development from Queen Consolidated. They’ll be observing the first part of the presentation today. Gentlemen, welcome. Alright, I’ll let you have the floor.”

The CIO takes a seat in a chair as the blonde smiles briefly and taps her tablet screen.

“Good morning, everyone. As most of you know, I’m Felicity Smoak, Director of Cyber Security and Technology.”

Oliver’s grin slides off his face and his jaw drops as she glances directly at him, her lip quirked. _Holy shit._

.::.

_Holy shit. He’s here. He’s the greek god from the other day. Of course he’s Tommy’s friend. Tommy doesn’t believe in hanging out with unattractive people. Oh God. How do I do this presentation when he’s looking at me like that? Is he mad? Why is his mouth open? Oh, not any more. Good. I should… present. Things. Shoot. What am I here for?_

Felicity begins her presentation, but frankly cannot remember a single thing she says because she’s trying very hard to ignore the greek god sitting in the corner with an inexplicably stern look on his face. When she gets to the more classified part of the presentation, all the non-essential personnel and the guests are kindly requested to leave, leaving her with ten additional minutes of easy presentation. Once she finishes, she sticks around for a few more minutes, chatting and answering questions. 

Stepping outside the boardroom, she finds that Oliver has remained behind, leaning against a pillar oh so casually. She swallows hard as she approaches, his stern look replaced by a small grin on his face.

“So you weren’t lying before about that presentation,” Oliver straightens slowly, uncrossing his arms. “It was great, by the way. Well, what I understood of it… at least.”

She shakes her head, trying to find her voice. Before she can reply, both of their phones go off at the same time. Felicity glances at her phone, it’s a text from Sara informing her that the guy she wants Felicity to meet up with is none other than the man standing in front of her.

“You know Sara Lance?” Felicity glances up at him, the same look of surprise on his face.

“Yeah, how did… how do you know all my friends and yet I’ve never met you?” Oliver shoves his hand inside his pocket.

“No idea, I'm like a best kept secret or something. But hey, we can be friends now!” Felicity smiles up at him, holding out her hand. “Just so we can be official — Hi, I’m Felicity Smoak.” 

“Nice to finally meet you, Felicity. I’m Oliver Queen,” he reaches out and engulfs her hand with warm and surprisingly rough textured skin. She tries not to blush at the way her name sounds on his tongue. Oh dear. Now she’s thinking about his tongue. “So… what do you say we get out of here?”

Wow, that smile and those words? Yes please. It actually makes her heart squeeze uncomfortably in her chest. Is she having a heart attack? Is this what death feels like? She shakes her head and nods, grinning in reply.

“I think… that sounds like a wonderful idea.”

It’s not until she turns to lead him down the hall that she realizes their hands are still clasped. When she pulls her hand away, she finds that she'd very much like to feel his hand again. Maybe, just maybe, if all goes well...

Safe to say, all goes well. _Very, very well._

.::.::.

_ fin _

 

**Author's Note:**

> FYI, this is only a one-shot. I have two other stories that I need to move ahead on. Thanks for reading!


End file.
